"But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." 2 Timothy 2:20-21

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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Today is a special day at our house. 15 years ago this afternoon, we received into our hearts and home a beautiful, brown-eyed bundle of joy whom we named Phoebe (Greek – Bright and radiant).

In front of a green screen

I had been praying for a little sister I could share a room with, since I had two brothers (I was the middle child at that point), I wanted someone I could talk to, play with and share “girly” experiences.

Dear Pheebs

Phoebe is one of the quiet, mature young ladies I know her age. She has wise words to share, sweet gestures to make and acts of kindness to those around her. And, she is very smart! Oh, and one other thing I LOVE about her – she is a talented pianist!

Beautiful girl

P - Patient. Playful. Prayerful. Pretty. Pianist.

H – Hopeful. Honest. Helpful. Happy.

O – Obedient. Optimistic. Orderly.

E - Eager. Earnest. Effective.

B – Bold. Beautiful. Big-hearted.

E – Exuberant. Exciting. Essential.

At the Creation Museum

I am so thankful that Phoebe is a part of our family. She is such a blessing, and she shows it every day when she works in the kitchen, edits videos, does her schoolwork, plays with Jaden, talks to Mom, or folds the latest load of laundry. Beyond all of those things, she has a passion for people – especially evangelizing them, winning lost souls for Jesus Christ! God has truly gifted her with a sharp intellect, a wit that few possess. She has been able to put all that to use in her creative video editing jobs and in her input for our Ministry.

At the Circle

I love you Phoebe! May the Lord richly bless you day by day as you serve Him, and give you many more joyful years of life!

In my school today, I was reading through Worldview Weekend's Worldview Weekend Digest (Summer/Fall 2009) - Volume 7 and came across the following article. I believe that Mr. Howse is spot-on, and I pray that the Lord will use this article to open your eyes, as He did me, to the importance of America's Christians reading and heeding 2 Chronicles 7:14.

I believe America is at a dangerous tipping point for receiving God's judgment for two reasons. The first reason is America's withering support for the nation of Israel. This began under the Bush Administration but has rapidly advanced under the Obama Administration. In early June of 2009, President Obama traveled to Egypt to deliver an address to the Muslim world. In his speech President Obama cited what he called the holy Koran numerous times. This is the very book that calls for Muslim to murder the Jews as well as Christians.

Days before his trip to the region President Obama declared that Iran has the right to a nuclear facility for energy. Why do they need a nuclear facility for energy when they have all that oil? We all know they want a nuclear bomb. Obama has clearly thrown Israel under the bus; by weakening Israel's national security and making them vulnerable to a nuclear strike by Iran. In addition he has increased Iran's threat to America's national security. Since 1998, Iran has been practicing shooting a missile off a cargo ship. If one missile, with a nuclear war head, was launched from international waters over the United States and detonated only a few miles above the center of our nation, an electronic magnetic pulse could very easily put America back in the mid 1800s technology wise by damaging vital electrical devices such as America's power-grid and our military defenses. Military experts and scientists have testified before the U.S. Congress and declared that the only way our enemies could bring us down militarily is through an EMP bomb.

In Genesis 12:3 God says that He will curse those that curse Israel and bless those that bless Israel. I believe one of the only reasons God's wrath has been delayed for America is because of our support for Israel and now America has almost completely withdrawn this support and I believe it puts us at great risk for being cursed by God.

The second dangerous national tipping point that is inviting God's wrath is found in the book of Nahum. The prophet Nahum shows up in Nineveh about 150 years after Jonah to tell the nation that God is not going to give them the chance to repent this time but His wrath is going to come upon them. Why? Because in Nahum 1:11 we read that the people had begun to "plot evil against the Lord." Rejecting God is one thing; plotting evil against him is the tipping point for national judgment. In fact in Nahum 3:19 we read, that their national "injury has no healing, your wound is severe." One translation says, "Your wound is incurable."

In fact, when God finally chooses to bring His judgment on America, it would be a waste of time to even pray for mercy. No need for a national day of prayer. In Jeremiah 7:16 God Himself declares to Jeremiah not to pray for Judah. "Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or a prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me: for I will not hear you." In Jeremiah 15:1 God tells Jeremiah, "Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people." Then in Ezekiel 14 God says that when a nation sins against God in persistent unfaithfulness He will stretch out His hand against it. In verse 14 God says, "Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves."

On June 1, Obama signed a proclamation that declared June as "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Pride Month, 2009." Combine America throwing Israel under the bus and our nation plotting evil against the Lord, and I think we may be at, or near, that tipping point. The next few months will reveal whether this is true or not. But it has become very clear that America is not on the side of God when our nation has murdered nearly 50 million unborn children, states are rushing toward homosexual marriage, God is outlawed in our nation's public schools, the criminalization of Christianity is greatly increasing, only 1% of adults have a Christian worldview and false-teaching and pagan spirituality has become mainstream.

Abraham Lincoln said, "I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord's side."

In 2 Corinthians 3:17 the Apostle Paul writes: "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom". The question for America is have we rejected the things of the Lord and thus His Divine providence and protection? In other words, is God judging America? I think the answer is yes.

Founding Father Dr. Jedidiah Morse wrote:

"Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government, and all the blessings which flow from them, must fall with them."

Engraved on the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. are these words of Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and our third president:

" God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever."

George Washington wrote: "We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself have ordained."

George mason, The father of the Bill of Rights, speaking at the Constitutional Convention declared: "As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, so they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins by national calamities."

I believe God uses the same template to judge nations and I believe that template can be understood by studying what God said would happen to the nation of Israel if they did not obey God and follow His precepts and principles. I believe God always warns nation's before He judges them and in doing so gives them the chance to repent. However, if the nation does not repent, God's judgment will become more severe. In reading what God said He would do to the nation of Israel if they continue in their rebellion against God as found in Deuteronomy 28, Leviticus 26, and Isaiah 5, it is in many ways like reading the newspapers here in America.

Deuteronomy 28

For disobeying God, Israel would not be blessed with prosperity and abundance both in regards to their economics as well as in their agriculture.

V. 24 describes drought: |
Many states in America are dealing with severe drought.V. 28 describes confusion of heart:
Americans are spiritually confused and are mixing Christianity with pagan spirituality.

V. 29 the nation shall not prosper in herways:
Look at the state of America's economy, educational system and legal system. V. 30 Lose of Homes:America is experiencing historic home-foreclosures. V. 38 You shall carry much seed out to the field but gather little in:
Recently I watched a Fox News Channel reporter standing on the side of a tractor as the farmer tilled his perfect crop of tomatoes back into the grown because it would cost him more to bring the crop to market than what he could sell it for and thus he was saving money to plow the crop under. Watch and see if America's famers experience poor yields or crops being damaged through drought or storms. V. 43 speaks of an invasion of illegal aliens:
One study reveals that illegal aliens cost Americans $346 billion per year.

Leviticus 26:

V. 16 I will even appoint terror over you:
America continues to live under the threat and fear of terrorism.

V. 19 I will break the pride of your power:
America is no longer a super-power as our military is stretched thin around the world and massive national debt impacts our financial stability and dependability which is causing nations to call for a new reserve currency to replace the American dollar.

V. 20. Speaks of famine:
V. 26 Speaks of famine:
Let us pray this does not happen. V. 22 Speaks of extreme economic distress:
America is bankrupt. When you combine all our off record debt and unfunded liabilities like Medicare and Social Security we are over 99 trillion dollars in debt. The federal government could tax Americans 100% of their total incomes and not cover 2009 federal deficit.

V. 31 Speaks of invasion by enemies anddestruction of their cities:
Intelligence officials and experts admit that terrorist sleeper cells are here in America and they are simply waiting for orders to carry out acts of terrorism upon our cities as did those that carried out the attacks on 9-11, 2001.

Romans 1 clearly states that a nation that rejects God over and over will suffer five specific consequences and America is experiencing all of these now.

Romans 1:21-32

1. A Nation of Fools: V. 21-22This verse declares that a nation that rejects God over and over will become vain, useless, futile or foolish in their thinking. Despite claiming to be so wise and so smart, the nation will become so foolish in their thinking that they will succumb to spiritual deception and accept spiritual lies and false teaching.2. The Nation Accepts Pagan Spirituality V. 25The Denver Post in June of 2008, reported that pagan spirituality is doubling in America every eighteen months. Pagan spirituality is the worship of nature, the belief in pantheism which proclaims that god is all and all is god. Whether you call it Cosmic Humanism, the New Age Movement, the New Spirituality or pagan spirituality, this worldview is becoming the dominate worldview in America with the help of people like Oprah Winfrey as well as the leaders of the Emergent Church.

3. The Nation Accepts Homosexuality V. 26-27Whether it is states that have approved homosexual marriage, the curriculum in many ofAmerica's public schools that teach the homosexual agenda, or the non-judgmentalism of a postmodern generation. Laws are seeking to give special rights to homosexuals and homosexuality continues to become an acceptable life-style to an ever increasing percentage of Americans.

4. The Nation becomes violent and debased V. 28A study by David Barton of Wallbuilders reveals that since the 1962, and 1963, U.S. Supreme Court rulings that outlawed prayer and Bible reading in America's public schools, our nation has seen a spike in the rates of murder, rape, child abuse, unwed pregnancies, and violent crimes.

5. The Nation's leaders are corrupt and immoralV. 32
This verse declares that when a nation continually rejects God, they will have leaders that are not only immoral and corrupt in their personal lives but they will also approve of and encourage immoral behavior in the people. Whether at the state or federal level, the leaders in our legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government are continually passing laws, handing down legal rulings, and signing executive orders and sponsoring legislation that is against the righteous judgments of God.

A quick look at Isaiah chapter five further reveals a few of the unrepentant and continual sins for which God will bring judgment to a nation. God warned Israel for these sins and America should also consider itself warned.

Isaiah 5

V. 8-10: Materialism:
Money is not the root of all evil but the love of money is the root of all evil and at the heart of materialism is the love of money. Materialism is a form of idolatry, it is the worship or love of money that also includes knowingly disobeying God's principles and standards in order to obtain money.

V. 11-12: Hedonism:Hedonism says that the purpose of life is not to seek God but to seek pleasure. Hedonism rejects the absolute truth of right and wrong based on the character and nature of God and instead proclaims that if it feels good do it, you only live once, or eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.

V. 12: Apathy and Foolishness:
Ideas have consequences. Bad ideas have bad consequences. Apathy has led Americans to take their freedoms for granted, to become intellectually lazy, to reject reason, logic, and context. The Bible speaks over and over about the need to acquire knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, yet Americans have done the exact opposite and have rejected knowledge. Wisdom is the acquisition of truth and knowledge is the application of truth. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is truth, that His Word is truth, yet Americans have developed an apathy toward God that has now turned into disdain toward His character and nature and this has made us a nation of fools.

V. 20: Moral Relativism:
Since the late sixties, millions of American public school children have been educated with values clarification courses that proclaimed moral relativism which is the belief that all values and beliefs are equal because there is no absolute truth or standard of right and wrong.

V. 21: Arrogance leading to spiritual deception:
This fits right in with Romans 1:21-25 where the nation becomes so arrogant and foolish in their thinking that they accept spiritual lies such as pagan spirituality.

V. 21-23: Corrupt leadership and rulers drunk with power and enriching themselves with brides and ill-gotten gains:
The examples of this are everywhere. Americans are beginning to realize that the majority of our local, state, and federal leaders are only interested in power, using their position to enrich themselves and their special interest groups so they receive kick backs, under the table payments, and political contributions for their re-election. A judge recently made national news because he had taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to sentence minors to a private, juvenile detention center. The judge was thus sentencing minors to this juvenile facility for the smallest of offenses.

A Christian response:

Christians must occupy till the Lord returns. Sadly, as America goes under, Christians that were only committed to the reconstruction of America or building a Christian America, will retreat from the culture and become defeated. This is not how Christians should respond. Duty is our and the results belong to God. If indeed God is judging America, (I believe He is) and if His judgment is going to greatly increase, (which I believe it will) then we need to use His judgment to preach the Gospel to the unsaved. As I stated in an earlier article, we need to see God's national judgment of our sins as an opportunity to speak in the natural realm and then swing into the spiritual realm. Explain to the unbeliever what sin is, why God must judge sin, and that the judgment that nations experience in this life is nothing compared to the eternal judgment that unrepentant individuals will receive in the next world. Share with them that grace and mercy is only extended to those that repent and that Jesus Christ has provided the way for us to pass from judgment into life.

American Christians cannot rate our success on how Christian we make our culture because we may very well see a drastic increase in the persecution of Christians in America. American Christians are not exempt from even the kind of persecution that our brothers and sisters in Christ have experienced in China, Cuba, and many other parts of the world. Our faithful fulfilling of the Great Commission must be our standard for success as Christians, not our popularity in the culture, the balance of our bank accounts, the house we live in or the car we drive. Peter Marshall put it this way: "It is better to fail in a cause that will ultimately succeed, than to succeed in a cause that will ultimately fail."Dr. Erwin Lutzer added to this by saying: "Better to fail within the church than to be successful outside of it…God wins even when the church appears to lose."

Texas Skies

Our Family

We are home-educators striving to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in every area of our life. Our family is made up of: David & Julia, Joel, Abby, Caleb & his wife Claudia (and their new baby girl, Haylie), Phoebe, Johanna & Jaden. Currently most of us reside in Southeastern Oklahoma.